Just Sounds

I stepped outside last night,hoping to see a skyfull of stars.One of the cats slinked out behindme.  She didn’t mindthat it was dark. To meit was ominous and black. A breezeplayed tunes in the chimeshanging from the willow tree,but not a star was there to be seen.An owl hooted from the silverbirch, but there was […]

Thinking about water while swimming in the pool

I break its surfacefeel its pearls roll down my skinI surge forward pressing palms togetherand in an outward circular stroke feeling the resistance of this chemical compoundfeeling its enormitysensing its presence in my bodyand around the eartha drop eroding s t o n ea refreshing GUSHa destructive W A V Ea treasure troveof pearl and […]

Heart-Shaped Spud

I give you a humble potato,imperfect and caked in soil,ready to be bathed in clear water,it’s knobbles caressed and cherished. So versatile is the potato,it can be whatever you will,roasted, mashed, fried. To you I offera dish of Dauphinoise – embellished with garlic and cream, sliced potatocheesy with Gruyere, sprinkled with dill,slow-cooked until crispy on […]

Sparrows in the Garden

As light returns, in dozing green,never a sparrow to be seen. Never in tangles of rusty fernsnor hedges rich with pungent tannincurled with smoke where bonfires burnin dozing green, as light returns. Outside the window, on fence and ledge,some chase each other in the hedge,or hide and seek in the curly willow.Too small to see, they’re […]

A Sweet Affair

An orchard’s fruit and its aromasare laden with sweet memories:a windfall of sparkling baublesor a bird café of dulcet squabblesover worms in russet orbs that endas feasts for feathered friends. Each bite of your acidic sweetnessarouses a harvest of ripe blushesbeneath a tree, under cover of night.‘I am sweet temptation in moonlight,’your apple breath whispers […]

In my Deepest January

In my deepest January,frequently the sky is pink,trees hunched over, shy and nude,creeping round churned up fields. In my deepest January,carrion crows, grey as fading ink,pick at drowned worms, rudeand raucous as they wield sharp, curved beaks then sinkthem into mud, cackling a lewdcaw. Breaks in the treeline revealthe village church, a chink of grey […]

Random Words of Winter

you were a cold crone,Winter, dimming our thresholds –summer’s still a dream a dolorous crowbrings me yet another verse –see how words renew and yet we’re awareof cliffs, caves and salty seathe scent of sun cream *** While winter’s nose is still dripping,one memory will cause us joy,even when it’s getting dark by four: it’s […]